The Problem With Siblings
by MissSadieKane
Summary: Regulus Black has just been sorted into Slytherin and has fallen out with Sirius. Lily Evans, who Regulus met on the train, is having problems with her sister Petunia. The two talk to discuss their family problems and maybe help one another in the process. Oneshot.
_Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, Hogwarts, Regulus or any of the Marauders_

 _AN: This is set just after Regulus has been placed in Slytherin, and is about Regulus's friendship with Lily. Regulus did not enjoy the boat ride with Barty Crouch so is not pleased when he ends up in the same house. This goes with, "Who Says We Can't Be Friends?", which was originally going to be multi-chaptered. I did not have enough events to see it through to the end, so I have just written this as a one-shot._

 **The Problem With Siblings**

Much to Regulus's disappointment, Barty Crouch had also been placed in Slytherin house, along with three other boys who didn't look too friendly either. However, Regulus knew that if he was to uphold the family name he would have to at least talk to them, if only to establish the fact that he was a 'Black' and they weren't.

Making small talk in the dormitory every night wasn't pleasant either. Barty Crouch did not seem to know the meaning of the phrase "shut up, I'm tired," and kept talking about his important father and all the presents he'd ever been given. He behaved in the manner of someone who was used to getting their own way all the time. All this did was remind Regulus of the fact that, though his own parents had hammered it into him that he was superior to everyone else, they had never really spoilt him. Two of the other boys had a similar mind-set to Crouch only with more emphasis on blood superiority. (Regulus had contemplated bragging about his own blood status just to shut them up.) All the fourth boy, Wilkes, ever seemed to do was read books, and they weren't even very interesting looking books either – they were all enormously thick volumes about History of Magic, which Regulus soon found out to be the least interesting of all of his classes.

During lessons Regulus didn't have much luck with the other houses either. Most of them shunned him just because of the fact that he was in Slytherin even though there had been many people before him in Slytherin that had been good: Merlin, Andromeda, and Uncle Alphard were just a few of them. The rejection from Sirius, though, was what hurt him the most. It upset him that his brother didn't seem to be able to see past the fact that he was in a different house. His friend Evan also seemed to be rejecting him for no reason, which also hurt Regulus.

However there was one person that didn't seem to mind that he was a Slytherin, and that was Lily. It turned out that she already had a friend in Slytherin called Severus, who was in Sirius's year, so she didn't really mind about house rivalries. Regulus and Lily frequently hung around together in the library where there were hardly any people present. It turned out that they both had a liking for Charms and enjoyed one another's company.

"I think you should just tell Sirius what you think," suggested Lily one day. It was a few weeks into the term and the two of them were both sat together working on assignments. Lily, being older and able to take more classes, was studying a chart of ancient-looking symbols, while Regulus worked on his Transfiguration essay.

"I could but he's always with James and he _hates_ me," Regulus complained. Regulus had quickly learnt that James Potter was practically glued to Sirius – you couldn't spot one without the other – and James, coming from a Gryffindor background and a Gryffindor himself, had little tolerance for Slytherins.

"James is just an arrogant toe rag so just ignore everything he says," said Lily. Regulus wished he could do just that, but the fact remained that the things that James Potter said always stung. And then there was the fact that he couldn't get within ten yards of Gryffindor table without being hexed by one of the Marauders. The only duelling spells Regulus knew were "Expelliarmus" and "Petrificus Totalus" and he only knew _them_ from extra reading. James and Sirius knew those spells, knew how to block them, and knew lots more complicated spells to use. Regulus didn't really stand a chance if James started a fight, which he had more than once.

"But…"

"Okay fine. Don't talk to him then, but he'll carry on thinking you're a cowardly Mother's-boy and a slimy Slytherin," said Lily, referring to insults they had both heard Sirius use.

"I don't think Sirius really actually thinks like that," said Regulus. "He's just a bit annoyed with me at the moment – that's what brothers are like." Regulus had always had a high opinion of his brother Sirius and it was hard for him to believe that Sirius's opinion of him could differ so drastically in such a short space of time.

"I think I know what you mean. My sister acts like she hates me just because I'm a witch and she's not. We always used to get along really well when we were little," said Lily.

"Yeah, me and Sirius used to be best friends when we were small. I can see why your sister's annoyed though. I mean, if Sirius was allowed to go to Hogwarts and I was just a squib or something, I'd be really upset too." Being a squib got you banished from the Family Tree and left to fend for yourself in Muggle London. It had been one of Regulus's greatest fears when growing up, until at the age of seven he had performed an accidental levitation spell one day when Kreacher's arthritic mother had been about to drop their dinner on the floor. It had prolonged her life a little longer until Regulus's mother had decided she was useless.

"Yes but that's completely different. You're from a magical background: I'm not. You expected to be a wizard when you grew up and I didn't," said Lily.

"I think she's just jealous," commented Regulus. "Just think about it. Imagine it was you and she got to go to magic school while you had to stay at home doing… what exactly do muggles do anyway?"

Lily looked rather rejected at being called a muggle but assumed Regulus didn't really know any better, which he didn't. "I'd probably be just as annoyed as she is with me."

"Exactly! And just like you'd be annoyed with her, if I was Sirius I'd be annoyed with me."

"But you haven't even done anything- What on earth!" said Lily, just as someone slammed a two foot high pile of books on the table in front of them, completely obscuring their entire view of the library.

Regulus peered around it and saw a rather large group of third, fourth and fifth year Slytherins – Mulciber and Rabastan Lestrange were amongst them. The books had obviously been put there so that they wouldn't be seen together. He looked behind him, but all he could see was the tail end of a girl he didn't recognise disappearing round one of the book cases. He crouched back down behind the books again.

"Lily, I think we should go," he whispered. "I'll go down this way," he pointed to the right, "then wait for a bit and look at the bookshelves while you exit."

"Ok," Lily said. She walked as quietly as possible to the library exit while Regulus went over to look at the bookshelves on their left. It was when Regulus reached the far end of the aisle that he saw the girl again. She was stood there right at the end, pretending to read the books and obviously waiting for one of them to come. Regulus looked at her: she was wearing Gryffindor robes and was small enough to be in first year, but Regulus didn't recognise her.

"Why did you do that?" asked Regulus. "Put the books there, I mean."

"I-isn't it obvious?" she asked, looking shyly down at the floor. Regulus shook his head. "Th-the Slytherins w-would h-have seen?"

"I know. We should have been more careful. But I don't even know you!" said Regulus.

"M-my name is Mary," the girl stammered. Regulus thought he recognised the name, but he wasn't sure where from. He was positive that she wasn't in any of his classes. He waited for her to continue explaining herself.

"L-last year, I was f-friends with your friend Ev-an," she continued. "W-we were really good friends but we were not very care- careful. Then one d-day the Sl-slytherins f-found us..."

"And they hurt you," Regulus finished. He now remembered Evan telling him about the "Mulciber incident", because it had mostly been Mulciber that had done the damage. Evan and Mary had both been in the Hospital wing for about a week afterwards and as far as Regulus knew had not talked to each other since. He was now glad that she'd reminded him how stupid it was to hang around with a Muggle-born in public - what if the older Slytherins had done the same to him and Lily?

"Y-yes," said Mary. "I d-didn't w-want the s-same to happen to L-lily. She- she's been g-good to me s-since it h-happened. Me and Evan use a sp-special r-room on the seventh floor now. It's safer."

With that, Mary skittered away from him and out of the library, leaving Regulus to contemplate his relationship with Lily.

...

 _Thanks for reading. As Severus is a Halfblood his friendship with Lily goes unchallenged, but the older Slytherins take it as an insult when the Pureblood Slytherins do the same. Lily is in third year while Mary and Evan are both in their second year._

 _Please tell me what you think._

 _Please_


End file.
